tabtab طبطب
Algerian Darja · verb
“tabtab” (طبطب) is a verb in Algerian Darja meaning to knock (on a door).
Meanings
- to knock (on a door)
- to tap
Usage
tabtab means "to knock lightly, to rap", especially on a door: tabtab 3la lbab or tabtab f lbab. The verbal noun tabtib refers to the sound of the knocks. It is an expressive, informal word that is heard very often in daily life: chkoun tabtab?, "who knocked?". It is not used for a violent blow; to hit someone, you say dreb. In arabizi spellings, the digit 6 sometimes replaces the emphatic letter t, hence the form 6ab6ab.
Example
شكون طبطب على الباب؟
chkoun tabtab 3la lbab ?
“Who knocked on the door?”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “tabtab” but also “6ab6ab”, “tebteb” and “tbtb”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 6 is emphatic ta (ط).